Remote Tech Worker’s Guide to Working From Home

“Don’t Panic!” — a solid Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference.

“Don’t panic”. Although the Coronavirus pandemic is definitely terrible, working from home can be a positive side effect if you have the right strategy. Not everyone has the opportunity to work remotely, so if you do, congratulations! I’ve been a primarily remote worker on and off for the past few years and I’ve found that there are 3 general things to do in order to optimize your work from home experience:

• Master communication with your team.
• Master your workspace.
• Master yourself.

Master communication with your team

If you’re new to working from home, communicating with your team remotely can create a lot of awkwardness: even among people you see and work with every day, talking to someone through video is simply different. You no longer have the synergy that in-person meetings can create, the small, nonverbal cues we subconsciously rely on all but disappear, and the simple fact that you ARE on camera can be unnerving. Seeing co-workers in casual wear in their kitchens and living rooms presents a constant reminder of the surreal time we find ourselves in.

While this may be a new (temporary) normal, there are ways to restore order and confidence through optimizing how you use remote work tools like Zoom and Slack:

Use Slack (or any other messaging app) with a strategy.

If we’re leaning in on the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy references, Slack can be your towel. Since it is the online equivalent of the open office, some of the same strategies apply:

1. Together with your team, establish a reasonable rate at which you need to respond to Slack messages to unblock and keep others in the loop. This can be different depending on the type of work, work hours, type of project, and it can even shift from day to day. Communication is important, but so is allowing people to focus. By setting ground rules for response time, everyone can manage how they focus more effectively. If you need to be able to be available ASAP to help unblock people, try keeping Slack notifications visible in your work screen so you know when people message you. Since a constant barrage of messages can be disruptive to your work time, try looking at Slack at least every hour on the hour to start.
2. Help your fellow remote workers in different timezones keep their work within reasonable work hours. With everyone moving to digital, it’s even more important to set healthy boundaries and respect people’s non-working hours. When I need to send a message to someone who is now “after hours” in a different timezone, I like to use the Slack reminder tool. For example:/remind @myFavRadCoworker what do you think of this article? at 9AM EST tomorrow
3. Have a Slack channel strategy to alert everyone when your availability changes. Given how unpredictable life can be (especially during a pandemic), your availability for the day might change in an instant. Did your kid throw up at daycare? Did your daycare suddenly close due to COVID-19? Try something like an #availability Slack channel where you can alert everyone quickly and efficiently if you have to step away for a bit.
4. Customize your Slack theme so you can be sure which workspace you are currently in (if you have several Slack workspaces).
5. Try to get some random face time with coworkers. Humans can’t help but congregate around water-cooler type landmarks. A meeting place gives you a chance to talk shop and more generally, just be social. Now that the water-cooler is gone, what is the digital equivalent? You’ll find that this is a difficult task to undertake while remote but important to address for long term team building. Try something like the Donut app! Apps like “Donut” are great because it sets up a hangout with a random coworker(s) so you can chat and figure out what their “deal” is.
6. Find Slack apps that help remind you about your responsibilities to your coworkers. When you’re remote, you don’t have the extra nudge of randomly seeing someone in the office and remembering “Oh yeah, I was supposed to do x for them.” If you’re an engineer in tech, try the Pull Panda Slackbot so you know where you stand on your Pull Request responsibilities.
7. Don’t open slack if you know you don’t have enough time to respond. If you do find yourself checking messages, but can’t give a proper response in the moment, the Slack reminder tool is your best friend. For example: /remind @mySlackHandle respond to Adam's latest message at 3PM PST today

Get a professional video conferencing platform like Zoom.

Invest in a professional platform for conference calls. So far, I’ve had the best audio experience with Zoom. If you have issues with your wifi during conference calls, most video conferencing tools have the option to join the meeting by phone so you can rely on something besides internet.

Documentation

Have a simple way for your team to easily reference style guides, wiki, and other information that helps everyone do their jobs better. The more unwritten rules there are, the harder it is to do your job well (regardless of whether or not you’re remote). If you’re suddenly working remote and find that your team has a severe deficit in this category, use this as an opportunity to increase documentation for everyone’s benefit. Later on, this could serve as a company-wide exemplar.

Master your workspace

One of the most difficult transitions is training your brain to be in “work mode” in a place that you’re used to doing explicitly non work-related activities. Luckily, there are some easy wins to get into this headspace:

Have a designated space that is your “work area”.

Ideally this is a room that is exclusively used as your office (with a door that closes), but for those of us in the Bay Area that might not be reasonable. You can achieve the same sense of purpose with a strategically placed desk. The only rule is that when you are in your “work area” you are at work and, inasmuch as possible, should not be bothered.

Get the most out of your internet by connecting via ethernet.

This is not always possible but it’s something to look into. It sounds lame but it is way more reliable for video conferencing streaming. The less buffering during a meeting, the more productive the meeting is.

Think about optimizing your desk setup

This isn’t always feasible but it will help you avoid bad posture and other bad habits. This includes (but is not limited to):

1. A good mouse that works best for you and your wrists. Carpal tunnel issues are easier to prevent than to fix.
2. A good monitor setup that keeps you from slouching all day. The goal is to keep yourself at least at a 90 degree angle.
3. A standup desk that allows you to mix it up standing/sitting during the day. Too much sitting is linked to an early death.
4. An exercise ball that helps you work on your core while you work on your work.
5. Set the Stage by being mindful of what co-workers see while you’re doing video conference calls. Make sure that your desk is in a well lit and distraction free area. Also, propping your camera so that it is closer to eye-level is helpful. This simultaneously brings more authenticity to the conversation, and prevents you from giving off Jabba the Hutt vibes (or the feeling that you are looking down on the people you’re talking to).

Meal Prep

Have healthy meals and snacks available so you don’t fall into the “nachos again” spiral (we’ve all been there).

Master yourself

Everyone likes the idea of being their own manager until you realize your “manager” (a.k.a. you) might have some real flaws.

Even if working from home isn’t your long term goal, working remote is an opportunity to find out what your bad work habits are and to find strategies to fix them.

1. Get hyper focused on your work and have the tendency to forget meetings? Try setting a timer on your phone for meetings. Pro Tip: If you set the timer for 5 minutes before the meeting starts you’ll have time to wrap up what you were doing and grab a quick cup of tea or something. Another solution is to allow Google calendar notifications!
2. Get distracted easily by random sounds? Try getting noise cancelling earbuds/earphones if possible.
3. Get dehydrated and generally forget to care for yourself during the day? Always have a glass of water next to you if possible. This helps you stay hydrated and take random short breaks from your work because you’ll have to visit the restroom more often.

Make yourself the perfect “work playlist”

Most people have a few songs that help them get in the zone. I’ve been working on my “Harry Potter and the Playlist of Fire” Spotify playlist for the past few years so that it only contains music scores from the Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts movies that don’t stress me out.

Make time to stay physically active.

Since you don’t have the random physical activity that comes with commuting, you need to find time to go on a run/walk or go to the gym regularly. At the very minimum, try to stand up and work at least twice a day. Be good to yourself and you’ll have a better headspace and do better work.

Be mindful of what work hours are.

Try your best to keep them reasonable. Since you’re working from home you might have the tendency to work longer hours because you literally live in a place that your brain has started to associate with “work time.” When you’ve run out of available time for work and have to do your life stuff you need to make a note of what you have left to do and tackle it the next work day.

Use your extra hours not spent commuting to better yourself.

Since you don’t have to commute to your office you’ll have a little more time on your hands. These hours/minutes can be spent getting a work project over the finish line as well as taking the time to slowly work your way through books that help you with your career. Curious about javascript best practices or how to manage people better? There are books for everything out there. Since I am super interested in design systems, I’ve worked my way through these books that I’d recommend:

Design Systems by Alla Kholmatova

Expressive Design Systems by Yesenia Perez-Cruz

Best of Luck!

Working from home can be a great experience so long as you accept change, work with your team to figure out what best supports productivity, and make space for your colleagues’ shifting needs as well as your own. You got this.